[almostdone]

I have wanted to tell this story for a while but didn't take the chance until I saw this thread.

Back in June a couple of friends asked if I wanted to join them for a Braves game against the Phillies in Atlanta. Of course I went a had a great time just hanging out with the guys talking baseball. There were a few others there that I had seen before but hadn't been formally introduced to. As it turned out I sat next to one of these guys during the game. He was a nice young kid in his late 20's named Daniel. He is a huge fan of today's game and players while I tend to focus on the history.

The game itself was kind of boring so we just talked about baseball and our experiences. Somewhere in our conversation Daniel says he thinks he is related to some guy from "way back". He says "I think he actually pitched in a World Series too.". This, of course, peaks my interest but he couldn't recall much more. He sends a text to his mom asking the players name and how he was related.

The players name was Rube Benton and was the brother of my friend Daniels great grandfather. Benton pitched in the majors from 1910-1921. Then another small stint from 1923-1925. He did pitch in the 1917 World Series for John McGraw's NY Giants against the White Sox. Benton pitched in game 3 where he pitched a 2-0 shutout becoming the first lefty to record a shutout in World Series history. He also pitched game 6 where he received a loss even though he didn't give up any earned runs. Turned out to be the last game of the series.

Here is the kicker though. A few years later during the trial of the Black Sox scandal, Benton was called by the grand jury to testify as to having prior knowledge that a fix was on for the series. He told the grand jury that he did have knowledge the series was fixed but didn't place any bets or take advantage of this knowledge. Judge Landis ended up giving him a pardon and said he could continue in his ball career even though others like Buck Weaver were given a lifetime ban for having the same knowledge. I was shocked to find out Landis did this considering how harsh his judgement was for so many others.

Obviously I am not related to a old player but sharing this story and researching it with Daniel was pretty exciting. He had no prior knowledge of any of it.

Another quicker but further distanced story. There was a kid in a Youth Group I led at church years ago whose grandfather was Ty Cobb's personal physician late in life here in Georgia. He still has a beautiful single signed Cobb ball that has been passed down to him from his late grandfather.

Just thought someone might enjoy these stories.

Drew